WASHINGTON, DC | According to the American Forest & Paper Assn. (AF&PA), as our nation struggles to recover from the recession and the unemployment rate lingers near 10%, Clean Air Act rules recently announced by the Environmental Protection Agency could be unsustainable for US manufacturing and the high-paying jobs it provides unless greater flexibility is allowed in meeting targets.

“We support efforts to address serious health threats from air emissions,” said Donna Harman, president and CEO of the American AF&PA. “But we also believe that regulations can be crafted in a more balanced way that sustains both the environment and good jobs.”

The EPA’s new Boiler Maximum Achievable Control Technology (Boiler MACT) rule includes emission limits for industrial, commercial, and institutional boilers using fossil fuels and biomass approaching levels that can barely be detected, according to the AF&PA.

Achievement of the limits established in this rule would require installation of up to five different air pollution control devices that will conflict with other existing control requirements and could impose tens of billions of dollars in unnecessary capital costs at thousands of facilities across the country, according to the AF&PA.